- The number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. surged past the 6 million mark this weekend.
- Previous hotspot areas like Florida and California are finally seeing a decline in new coronavirus cases.
- The number of new coronavirus cases in Florida this weekend reached a nearly three-month low.
When the coronavirus first started sweeping across the country, it quickly became evident that New York City was the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. For a good few weeks, hospitals across the city were at capacity as the number of new coronavirus cases and accompanying death rate began to skyrocket. The good news is that New York eventually managed to get a handle on the coronavirus by implementing strict lockdown measures and closing down non-essential businesses.
Now Florida appears to be following the same type of trajectory. It’s, of course, no secret that Florida quickly became a huge coronavirus hotspot back in June. Hardly a surprise, Florida didn’t take the coronavirus as seriously as other states and it was inevitable that the state would eventually be hit by a massive surge in coronavirus cases and deaths. In fact, Florida at one point in July set a new record when it saw more than 15,000 new coronavirus cases within a 24-hour period. But Florida, much like New York before it, is finally starting to see light on the other side.
This past weekend, Florida reported less than 2,000 new coronavirus cases over a 24-hour period. To put this figure into context, the last time Florida saw its case count so low was back in early June. The figure is all the more remarkable and encouraging given how much more expansive testing has become over the past two months. Another encouraging sign is that coronavirus hospitalizations are also dropping dramatically.
ClickOrlando reports:
The positive outlook continues Monday as the DOH reported 1,885 new cases, bringing the state’s overall total to 623,471 since March.
The last time Florida reported a new case count under 2,000 was on June 15.
The positivity rate– the number of people who tested positive for the first time compared to overall tests– also remained low Monday at 5.52 %.
To date, the coronavirus-related death toll in Florida is slightly below 11,200.
More broadly, the cumulative number of coronavirus cases in the United States passed the 6 million thresholds over the weekend. And while that figure is admittedly staggering, it’s worth stressing that we’ve seen a discernible slowdown in coronavirus infections across recent hotspot areas like Florida, Texas, and Arizona. Even California, which has seen more coronavirus cases than any other state, saw less than 4,000 new cases over a 24-hour period this past weekend. To help contextualize that figure, 4,000 new cases is the lowest rate California has seen in nearly two months